The European Commission and the African Union Commission
on Sunday signed an agreement that will renew cooperation between the
two bodies, intensifying staff exchanges and cooperation in a number of
priority areas. Under the arrangement, the European Commission staff
will be able to work, for a limited period of time, in the
administration of the African Union Commission and vice-versa. The
agreement also foresees exchanges of expertise and best practices,
mainly in the areas of administration, learning and development and
financial management, via, for example, trainings, exchange of
materials, sharing of experience.
The Administrative Arrangement
was signed at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, by European
Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva and Mr. Erastus J.O.
Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission. The
agreement takes effect immediately and runs for five years.
Vice-President Georgieva said: "In
today's connected world, our fortune and misfortunes are shared. We
have to work together. Thanks to this agreement, the European Commission
and the African Union Commission will be able to learn from each
other's experience, and make common cause in tackling issues such as
migration and climate change."
The Arrangement succeeds two
previous Memoranda of Understanding on staff exchanges, signed in 2006
and 2010 respectively. They intensified administrative cooperation
between the two institutions, via, for example, regular exchanges of
best practices, staff exchanges – over 50 officials took advantage of
this programme – and organisation of bilateral and trilateral events.
This is the 26th
Summit of the African Union, this year under the theme "African Year of
Human Rights with a particular Focus on the Rights of Women".
Vice-President Georgieva attended the Summit together with Commissioner
for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica.
